Motor vehicles are commonly supported by pneumatic tires supported on respective wheels, i.e. a tire and wheel assembly. The tire and wheel assembly is among the most important parts of the motor vehicle. Everything concerned with driving, such as moving and stopping of the motor vehicle, involves the tire and wheel assembly. It is well known that a non-uniform, i.e. improperly mounted and inflated tire and wheel assembly contributes significantly to noise and vibration of the motor vehicle. A tire and wheel assembly that is not properly mounted and inflated results in what is commonly referred to as smooth road shake, resulting in the undesirable vibration of the motor vehicle. If beads of the tire are not properly seated on seats of the wheel, air pressure over, for example 25 psi, may cause the bead to break and the tire and wheel assembly to explode during operation.
Typically, the mounting of the tire on the wheels by automobile manufacturers is normally accomplished by various high production assembly lines. These assembly lines, known in the art, contain conveying means, such as conveyor belts or metal rollers making it possible to move the tires and the wheels, respectively, from one point to another on the assembly line. The tires and wheels are delivered from a supply warehouse on suitable pallets to be further mounted on the assembly line and delivered to customers. The tires and wheels are typically treated by the lubrication solution or soap before the tire is installed on the respective wheel and is inflated.
Various methods and machines have been devised for seating the bead of the tire on or between the seats of the wheel and/or inflating the same. The objective, however, is always to ensure that the bead of the tire are properly seated on the seats of the wheel and are properly inflated to ensure proper functioning of the tire and wheel assembly. The art is replete with various methods and apparatuses for inflating and/or mounting a tire and wheel assembly, which are disclosed in the U.S. Pat. No. 4,735,250 to Kane; U.S. Pat. No. 5,339,880 to Kawabe et al.; U.S. Pat. No. 6,502,618 to Kane et al.; U.S. Pat. No. 6,463,982 to Doan; U.S. Pat. No. 6,467,524 to Ronge et al.; U.S. Pat. No. 6,148,892 to Koerner et al.; and U.S. Pat. No. 6,029,716 to Hawk and are widely used today in the automotive industry.
The U.S. Pat. No. 4,735,250 to Kane, for example, teaches a tire inflating station having a support frame, a conveyor supported and operably connected to the support frame for delivering preassembled tire on a respective wheel. An inflator device is operably connected to the support frame and includes inner and outer concentric seals with the outer concentric seals movable telescopingly relative to the inner concentric seal for inflating the tire. The tire inflating station does not teach a tool cooperable with the tire inflating station for mounting the tire about the wheel for inflating the tire and wheel assembly. The inner and outer concentric seals and the conveyor are not connected one with the other.
The U.S. Pat. No. 5,339,880 to Kawabe et al., for example, teaches a tire mounting and inflator device including a table movable upward and downward along guides by means of a reciprocating movable fluid pressure cylinder. The table supports inner and outer concentric members or seals engaged one with the other in a telescoping fashion and raised in different modes of operation to raise the inner seal into abutment against a wheel in an air-tight manner. Pressurized air is then supplied into inner space of the tire through a space between the inner and outer seals and from an air supply line connected to a pressurized air source, such as an air compressor. The inner and outer concentric seal are positioned in a stationary manner in the tire mounting and inflator device that may require to entirely disassembly the tire mounting and inflator device in order to replace or service the inner or outer concentric seals.
Other methods and devices are known and used in the automotive industry today. The Japanese Utility Model Application No. 50-104,302, for example, teaches a tire and wheel assembly mounting apparatus. Similar to the aforementioned prior art devices, in mounting a tire on a wheel with this tire and wheel assembly mounting apparatus, the wheel is arranged on a table vertically movable and fixed thereat by means of an extensible and contractible center cone inserted into the hub hole formed in the center of the wheel. The tire is then arranged on the wheel in an inclined state so that a part of one bead portion of the tire is dropped into a well formed in one side region of the rim of the wheel. By rotating a swivel arm coaxially provided on the center cone, bead portions of the tire are expanded by guide rollers provided on the swivel arm and a side surface rubber of the tire is urged downwardly by restraining rollers vertically movably provided on the swivel arm. As a result, the bead portions of the tire are fitted one by one or simultaneously on the rim of the wheel. The tire and wheel assembly mounting apparatus does not teach a tire inflator assembly having inner and outer concentric members or seals.
Hence practicable, the prior art designs are too complex, non-compact and fit only to be installed and used within established environment of a production line to lubricate and mount the tires within their respective wheels to undergo further inflation. The application of some of the aforementioned designs is limited mass production and may not be used in individually owned tire shops, located in a private garage, and the like, or at the facility with a limited space. Other designs may require service that is complicated leading to entire disassembly of the device or apparatus to replace or service parts, such as, for example inner or outer concentric seals.
But even with the aforementioned technique, to the extent it is effective, there is always need for improvements system for mounting a tire about the wheel to form a tire and wheel assembly and inflating the same.